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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22513435">Cotton Candy Clouds (Frame the Sky Above Our Love)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BananaChef/pseuds/BananaChef'>BananaChef</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Aeronauts (2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Aeronauting, Emotional Baggage, F/M, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Hot Air Balloon, Hot Air Balloon Romance, Meteorology</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 09:49:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,558</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22513435</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BananaChef/pseuds/BananaChef</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leaning against the side of the basket, one arm wrapped around a length of rope, Amelia looked over at James as he scribbled down some new data. She couldn’t help the smile that lit up her face, nor the fact that it grew larger when he finally looked over at her. His lips curved into his signature grin and she moved to kneel next to him, brushing her hair away from her face.</p><p>*</p><p>The start of a great romance born in the sky.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Amelia Wren &amp; James Glaisher, Amelia Wren/James Glaisher</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cotton Candy Clouds (Frame the Sky Above Our Love)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/blatheringbluejay/gifts">blatheringbluejay</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I finally managed to finish this fic. It took me way too long, but I did it!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Leaning against the side of the basket, one arm wrapped around a length of rope, Amelia looked over at James as he scribbled down some new data. She couldn’t help the smile that lit up her face, nor the fact that it grew larger when he finally looked over at her. His lips curved into his signature grin and she moved to kneel next to him, brushing her hair away from her face.</p><p>“Where shall we go today, Amelia?” he inquired, looking at her for a fleeting moment before back at his numbers and calculations. And then up at her again. She pulled herself away from his constellation-like freckles to study the sky and clouds, relishing the feel of the wind, just barely strong enough to sting with cold.</p><p>“Wherever the breeze takes us, James. Wherever we’re meant to go.” She felt drawn back to him and his smile, his eyes, which meant so much more to her than she ever thought they would.</p><p>“Lovely. I don’t suppose you actually <em> know </em> where the wind will take us, do you,” he jested, looking back down at his work after a swipe of his nose.</p><p>“And, as always, <em> you do.</em> You don’t have to brag, you know. I didn’t brag when I saved your life.”</p><p>He scoffed, trying and failing to hide his smile. “Yes, well, I assume that was because you thought I was dying.”</p><p>Amelia moved to sit behind him, her back against his. She could feel his arm moving as he scribbled down more data.</p><p>“Which,” she started loudly, “was <em> whose </em> fault? Hmm?”</p><p>He started laughing then; he couldn’t help it. God save him, this woman would be his undoing.</p><p>“I admit it! Yes, it was my fault we almost died. You can stop teasing me at any point, Amelia.”</p><p>“What was that? I couldn’t hear you!” She cups her ear with a hand and turns her body to face him again. “You said it was your fault?”</p><p>James finally set down his pencil and turned to face her, which resulted in Amelia losing her balance and falling into his arms.</p><p>“Erm...Yes, I <em> did </em> say it was my fault…” he answered, his rose-tinged cheeks conveying all of his thoughts on their current predicament.</p><p>She tried <em> so hard </em> not to look in his eyes, but she couldn’t help herself; they looked golden in the fading sunlight, and she got lost for a moment in their depth. Amelia started, tearing herself away as she cleared her throat and sat up, grinning and acting unfazed. “You win!”</p><p>“Win what?” he asked, utterly confused, as she stood up and started checking the ropes.</p><p>“Uh—staring contest!” she replied hurriedly. He stood up after her, standing next to her to help with her arbitrary fiddling with the ropes.</p><p>“Is—is there something wrong?” he questioned, untying and retying a knot.</p><p>Amelia sighed and cleared her throat after a moment. Should she really say that she’d grown feelings for him? She wasn’t sure she was ready to fully admit that to <em> herself</em>. But the way they got caught in each other’s gazes… It certainly wasn’t nothing, and their friendship <em> had </em> grown over the past few months; deeper feelings than that could’ve taken root.</p><p>The real question wasn’t whether or not they’d grown a reciprocating romantic attraction to each other, Amelia decided, studying James’s eyes, but rather if she was ready to broach the subject. Her gaze wandered down to his lips for a fleeting second before she directed them towards the arm of his coat.</p><p>“There’s nothing <em> wrong</em>, per se, I simply... I don’t want to start something I’m not ready for.” She looked down at the floor of the basket, unwilling to meet his eyes.</p><p>“‘Start something?’ Amelia, I...what do you mean by that? If you mean to take you on as a lover, I assure you, I am <em> not </em> attempting to do so. You...you are more special than that, and if I <em> were </em> to do so, I would make it abundantly clear and do something overtly romantic. If this is brought on by the way I look at you...”</p><p>Amelia finally looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “You look at me as if you could love me.” James didn’t say anything for a moment, opting to stare at the floor, the only sound coming from him a sniffle.</p><p>“I do—I could—I might.” He takes a deep, fortifying breath before continuing. “I don’t understand why you are so captivating to me, Amelia, but trust me when I tell you this: I am not trying to woo you. If you want...<em> us</em>, then that is your decision to make.” He looked up at her once more, sad darkness about his eyes. “After Pierre, I can understand if you wish no romance in your life.”</p><p>Amelia sighed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I don’t know what I want. All…all I know is that you have a wonderful smile—that your eyes shine like gold in a sunset—and that your freckles adorn your face like stars adorn the sky at night.” Her eyes flit between his for a tense moment. “I think I may be ready to move on from Pierre. He…he always wanted me to be happy and being with you always fulfills that. He would have wanted me to move on.”</p><p>James took a hesitant step toward her, gently grasping her hands in his. “I will wait for you, Amelia, because you…” He seemed to lack words to describe her, so instead laced their fingers together. “You’re worth waiting for. I’ve never wanted to be around someone as much as I do you. You’ve made my life better since the moment you stepped into it, even though it might not have seemed so. But you, Amelia Wren, are a <em> remarkable </em> woman, and I hope that you know how much I’ve come to care for you.”</p><p>She couldn’t help but smile through her tears at his confession—he was a remarkable man as well. “Thank you,” she whispered, a tear trailing down her cheek. “I don’t know if I’m quite ready to face society as an ‘us.’” Amelia tipped her forehead against his, exhaling softly as she let go of one of his hands to tentatively rest hers on the nape of his neck—and then her lips were on his, welcomed wholeheartedly as they met softly again and again before the two broke apart for air. There was an electricity between them as James brought his hand to his lips, his eyes wide before desire consumed him. He quickly brought his lips to hers, gasping when she permitted him entrance. His hands found their place on her waist and hers over his shoulders as they kissed; the sun stained the clouds pinks and oranges as it started to set.</p><p>The two parted with a gasp, and Amelia grinned widely. “I’d forgotten what it felt like to kiss someone…” she murmured, getting lost in his eyes; her smile’s intensity dimmed as some of it went to her eyes. “James...you’re the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. You’ve brought so much good into my life when I had none. You wouldn’t let me give up on my passion, and I thank you for that. I’d be happy to court you one day.”</p><p>The smile that lit up his face took her breath away, and she knew then and there that she was in love with him, for better or for worse. “Amelia—” he started, but she cut him off.</p><p>“I love you.” James was silent for a moment before he responded.</p><p>“I love you, too.” He grasped Amelia’s hand for a moment, pressing a kiss to it, before looking out at the clouds. “It’s growing late; John and Antonia are likely wondering where we are since we agreed to be back almost an hour ago.”</p><p>“I’ll have us descend,” she agreed, but neither moved for a solid minute. “Are we going to tell them of us?”</p><p>He took a breath and exhaled, meeting her eyes. “If you want to. Although I think it would be nice to keep this to ourselves for a little while. Just enjoy as much privacy as possible.”</p><p>She sighed in relief, letting go of his hand to start their descent. “I agree. I’d rather enjoy ourselves until we’re ready to court properly—if we get there. I know you’re not one for propriety, and neither am I. We can take this at our own pace, whatever that may be.”</p><p>James smiled at her before heading to finish his calculations, giddy with excitement. They went into the sky as friends and came out as lovers, something he’d never expected. If everything turned out nicely, he could imagine an engagement and small wedding—but he was getting ahead of himself; he needed to finish the last row of data and prepare himself for their landing. And <em> then </em> he could fantasize about what the future could have in store. Suppressing a grin, he scribbled down his last bit of data, unaware that Amelia was watching him work with a small smile.</p><p>Cotton candy-colored clouds framed the picturesque view as the hot air balloon started to descend, taking the two lovers down to Earth and back to reality.</p>
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